Facebook Mobile Payments Go Live

Facebook mobile phone-based payments for goods and services offered through the social network have gone live, through a partnership with Bango originally announced in February.

The service is initially available in the UK, the US and Germany, and will be extended to other countries by the end of this year, Bango said. Mobile payment technology allows mobile device users to pay for goods and services without the need to enter credit card details, with the payment appearing on the user’s mobile phone bill.

No verification needed

Bango’s technology claims to offer a further advantage, in that users aren’t required to pass through any additional steps, such as receiving an SMS message for authentication, as is the case with other mobile payment systems. The result is a higher rate of completion of purchases, according to the company – 77 percent compared to 40 percent for other operator billing systems.

The company can dispense with additional verification procedures because it already has a database of 150 million authenticated users, acquired via the various mobile app stores (BlackBerry App World, Opera Mobile Store), content providers (CNN, EA, Cartoon Network) and mobile operators (Vodafone, AT&T, Telefonica, O2) for which it provides payment services. When one of these users arrives at another site or app that uses a Bango payment system, they are automatically identified.

Bango has agreed to provide payment services to Amazon and is a technology partner for MasterCard’s PayPass mobile wallet.

“As the mobile web experience has matured and improved, consumers are increasingly keen to purchase digital goods on mobile devices,” said Bango chief executive Ray Anderson, in a statement. “By ensuring a frictionless payment experience, Bango technology is unlocking the business potential of the mobile web.”

Mobile focus

The deal is part of Facebook’s focus on mobile technology, which the company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, highlighted during a meeting with investors earlier this month. He said that Facebook was integrating mobile into every aspect of its business and that advertisers were seeing better results on mobile than on PCs as the social network’s user base becomes increasingly mobile.

In July Facebook signed a global mobile payment agreement with Telefonica, the parent company of O2.

The focus on technologies including mobile and search are part of Facebook’s efforts to regain investor confidence following a disastrous flotation in May.

On Tuesday, Facebook’s shares stood at around $20 (£12), compared to a flotation price of $38.

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